The Hay Wain | artble.com The Hay Wain The Hay Wain Story / Theme The Hay Wain The Hay Wain John Constable In The Hay Wain John Constable chose to paint a rural landscape which runs into the distance in sun-drenched meadows, offset by the cool waters of the pool in the foreground. The theme of this painting is very much rural life and the beauty of the landscape which the artist loved so much. The Hay Wain is based on a site near Flatford on the river Stour, in Suffolk, England. The hay wain itself is a type of horse-drawn cart which would have been a common piece of agricultural equipment used during the artist's youth. The cottage in the left of the image was rented by a farmer and stands behind Flatford Mill , owned by Constable's father. Across the meadow in the distance on the right, a group of haymakers can be seen working. The farm workers are hard at work but seem contended and are surrounded by beautiful scenery. All of these aspects illustrate Constable's idyllic view of his home county of Suffolk.

Industrial Revolution: However idyllic Constable's view of rural England was throughout his career it's unlikely that there was as much calm and happiness in the countryside during this period. Due to the onset of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, many rural people found themselves out of jobs as farming work became more industrialized and machines reduced the man power needed to harvest and maintain crops and animals. Large areas of Britain also saw uprisings and riots amongst the rural communities that were affected by the job losses. It may be that Constable did not paint images of these problems because he did not want to draw attention away from the natural landscape itself. In The Hay Wain the workers happily fit in with nature and live in harmony with the area. On the other hand the admission of the true relationship farm workers had with the land could have been because the industrial revolution simply didn't affect Constable; he came from a wealthy family and the revolution only served to make the rich richer. Through family friends and business associates Constable was exposed to what was considered the best art of his day and this led to him developing his own painting style which is illustrated in The Hay Wain.

The Hay Wain Analysis John Constable Composition: Unlike the symmetrical and classical landscapes of Claude Lorrain , widely considered to be the pinnacle of landscape painting even up to Constable's day, The Hay Wain is portrayed as a real scene and therefore symmetry is not as important as realism in the piece. Instead Constable sketched what he saw and ultimately what he knew well, having lived near this farm as a boy. Technique: Complete and perfect beauty- something that could only be created in a mythical or biblical world - was popular during Constable's time. The artist painted nature as it was, and his work was a breath of fresh air in an art world full of over-dramatic and stylized landscapes. Color palette: In keeping with the artist's love of nature, natural tones are predominant in The Hay wain and there is contrast between the pool of water, the tall delicate trees and the strong brick house to the left. The different tones all complement each other and are repeated to add harmony to this piece: the blue of the pool is reflected in the sky and the red of the house is highlighted subtly in the trees and in the harness of the horse.

The trees and grass encircle the whole composition with relief from the yellow meadows disappearing to the right which help to stop the painting from seeming closed in or too claustrophobic. Use of light: The Hay Wain represents a near-perfect English summer day and Constable accomplishes this by using natural light and painting realistically from his sketches of the scene. As a young boy Constable often went out "skying", sketching the clouds and sky to perfect his technique. One of Constable's most innovative techniques was to create light on water by using white paint as a highlight. This technique can be seen in The Hay Wain as the water from the stream in the foreground is disturbed by the wheels of the hay wain itself. Method: Although Constable is famous for being one of the first landscape painters to create canvases purely based on nature, he did not paint The Hay Wain on site. Instead he created several sketches in the summer of 1821 and produced the finished oil version in his London studio in the winter of the same year.

This technique was commonly used by Constable and of course it helped that he knew the landscapes he was painting very well, having spent his childhood in the same area, and he often added details from memory. The Hay Wain Critical Reception Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot Paris Charles X Constable's work was not very well received by his contemporaries in Britain, who believed that the ideal landscape should mirror those of Claude Lorrain. Also, they didn't appreciate Constable's innovative used of the "impasto" technique. The artist's success on continental Europe however established his reputation and allowed him to finally make money from his art. Contemporary reception: England: Constable first exhibited The Hay Wain in 1823 at the Royal Academy in London. The painting was not well received and did not find a buyer during the exhibition but this is typical of Constable's work during the 19th century in a country which did not appreciate his new style of painting or the subjects he chose. France: After the Royal Academy exhibition Constable sent this painting to France, where he was asked to exhibit a number of pieces at the Paris Salon in 1824.

The Hay Wain proved to be a great success and inspired local artists such as Delacroix and Corot. In fact it was such a success that Charles X saw fit to award it the Gold Medal of the exhibition. Constable's work would go on to influence Impressionist artists almost 50 years later in the same city. Modern reception: Today The Hay Wain is considered to be one of Constable's best known and most skilled works. It is currently owned by The National Gallery in London and has featured in a number of exhibitions across the country. The Hay Wain Related Paintings The White Horse John Constable The Hay Wain is one of John Constable's most famous paintings and in it all of the innovative and creative devices which made this artist's work so different from his contemporaries are evident. One of the artist's "six footers", this work was produced on a very large scale which meant that he could add a lot of detail to the piece. The Hay Wain is situated near Flatford in Suffolk, England, a site which is still very much as Constable's portrayed it.

This artwork is another example of Constable illustrating an idealistic English countryside, in which hardworking but happy farm workers go about their everyday business. Constable produced many works depicting the English countryside and this theme inspired a great number of other artists. Furthermore, Constable's innovative technique and his influence on the French Impressionist movement after his death cannot be denied. Constable spent most of his youth in Suffolk, sketching the landscape which would feature in all his canvases as an adult. Although Constable started to display at the Royal Academy by 1806 he did not sell a painting until he was 39 and remained unpopular in his native England until after his death. Luckily for Constable, French patrons found his work much more appealing and he began to sell a lot of work in Paris. Although he was popular outside of his own country Constable never left England and only ever painted landscapes of his beloved Suffolk. The Hay Wain Art Period Theodore Gericault John Constable was born in the second half of the 18th century, at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution when poverty was rife within the poorer communities of England.

In the art world, many professionals were rebelling against the pure and realistic lines of the Neoclassical period and started producing paintings and sculpture which took the viewer into a new world, far removed from the realities of everyday life. In this respect Constable was different; he loved painting nature and used it as the focus of his pictures, creating realistic landscapes. His style was to take a natural landscape and paint it just as he saw it without enhancing or changing it. This realism made Constable's work stand out from his contemporaries as well as the techniques he used to create a more life-like feel to his paintings. Constable was a landscape revolutionary and it is thanks to him that the work of Monet and the French Impressionists developed in the way it did. The Hay Wain Bibliography To read more about Constable and his art please choose from the following recommended sources. • Bailey, Anthony. John Constable: A Kingdom of his Own. Vintage; Reprint edition, 2007 • Clarkson, Jonathan. Constable. Phaidon Press Ltd. , 2010 • Cormack, Malcolm. Constable. Oxford: Phaidon, 1986 • Cove, Sarah, et al.

Constable: The Great Landscapes. Tate Publishing, 2006 • Gayford, Martin. Constable In Love: Love, Landscape, Money and the Making of a Great Painter. Penguin, 2010 • Gayford, Martin. Constable Portraits: The Painter and His Circle. National Portrait Gallery Publications, 2009 • Leslie, C. R. Memoirs of the life of John Constable, Esq. , R. A. 2nd ed. Phaidon, 1951 • Parkinson, Ronald. John Constable: the man and his art. V&A Publications, 1998 Want a Printed Poster or Canvas? John Constable Paintings Artwork The Haywain English Romantic artist born 1776 - died 1837 John Constable (1776-1837). English painter, ranked with Turner as one of the greatest British landscape artists. Although Constable artist showed an early talent for art and began painting his native Suffolk scenery before he left school, his great originality matured slowly.

During the 1820s John Constable began to win recognition: Haywain Constable (National Gallery, London, 1821) won a gold medal at the Paris Salon of 1824 and Constable was admired by Delacroix and Bonington among others. His wife died in 1828, however, and the remaining years of his life were clouded by despondency. After spending some years working in the picturesque tradition of Constable paintings landscapes and the manner of Gainsborough , the artist developed his own original treatment from the attempt to render scenery more directly and realistically, carrying on but modifying in an individual way the tradition inherited from Ruisdael and the Dutch 17th-century landscape painters. He is a special painter in the history of art, because he neither became a member of any established movements nor followed fixed rules for creation; first and last, he insisted that the inspiration of landscape paintings by John Constable should be directly captured from nature. Influenced by his happy childhood by the river, the subjects of Constable Hay Wain mainly focus on natural rural scene. Natural but not artificial composition makes the pictures full of musical cosy sense.

John Constable’s plain performance of walking into nature itself to create wrote a wonderful page in the development of landscape painting history. So, oil painting lovers are very interested in John Constable biography, and reproductions of his paintings for sale in gallery are prevalent. OWING to various causes few painters of the English school have been so misappreciated as Constable. Until a few years ago (when South Kensington Museum acquired the collection of Constable drawings, sketches, and studies) the productions of his middle and late periods alone had been seen by the public. The early Constable paintings, worked with the utmost care even to the verge of hardness, were hardly known and are now rarely seen. Hence, although Constable was admitted to be one of our foremost landscape painters, he was not accepted as a draughtsman, and his robust technique was considered almost coarse. These opinions were still more accentuated by the criticism of Ruskin, to whom the art of Constable was to a large extent unsympathetic. The broad and massive treatment which Constable employed was utterly opposed to the methods and processes advocated by Ruskin in his writings concerning the technical education of the painter.

Ruskin's keen and subtle appreciation of Turner seems to have prevented him from entering into the spirit of Constable painting. Constable's aims are tersely put in the biography by Leslie. He painted light, dews, breezes, bloom, and freshness. In Constable oil paintings and studies we see how earnestly he worked to attain these qualities, the very life and soul of landscape art. In his pictures we note how paramount in importance he deemed it to retain and realise them. There is room enough for a natural painter" he wrote in 1802. "The great vice of the present day is bravura, an attempt to do something beyond the truth. Fashion always had, and will have, its day ; but truth in all things will last, and can only have just claims on posterity." His point of view never altered. Constable, like all men with original ideas, was in advance of his time. In his day Landscape Art was considered by most people to be inferior to figure painting. This is well illustrated by the story told of Sir Thomas Lawrence, who was President of the Royal Academy at the time of Constable's election.

It was, and still is, the custom for those newly elected into the fold of the Academy to call upon the members and thank them individually for the honour conferred. When Constable called upon Sir Thomas he was met by the chillingremark that "he might consider himself fortunate, as there were historical painters waiting for election." Landscape art was ignored. Out of all the distinguished landscape painters of this country only three of the first rank have been elected members of the Royal Academy, viz., Wilson, Turner, and Constable. After Constable not one of the landscape painters now recognised as masters has been received into that body. If we take the period in which Lee, Witherington, and Creswick were members, we find amongst the " outsiders " Bonington, Miiller, Cotman, De Wint, David Cox, George Barret, jun., and John Linnell. These men are admittedly masters of their art, not only in water colour painting, but also in oils. This neglect can never be repaired, although it is somewhat condoned by the honourable positions given to the works of these painters in the loan exhibitions held at Burlington House every winter.

The landscape painter was a liberal man in his artistic tastes, and ever ready to acknowledge influences valuable to him in the practice of Constable paintings. In his letters he makes constant references to his predecessors to whom he was indebted, and writes of them with admiration and gratitude. He speaks often of his studies from Claude, Ruysdael, and others, and especially does he express his admiration for Richard Wilson, an artist who is even now far from being fully recognised. In a letter dated 1823, Constable thus writes : " I went to the gallery of Sir John Leicester to see the English artists. I recollect nothing so much as a large solemn, bright, warm, fresh landscape by Wilson, which still swims in my brain like a delicious dream. Poor Wilson. Think of his fate, think of his magnificence. But the mind loses its dignity less in adversity than in prosperity. He is now walking arm in arm with Milton and Linnaeus. He was one of those appointed to show the world the hidden stores and beauties of nature." What a tribute to Wilson's art ! One can hardly imagine that the man to whom such words could apply, words coming from a master of his craft, lived a life of comparative penury.

Wilson would probably have starved if the Royal Academy had not conferred upon him a small post in their institution. Constables own experience must have told him how hard was the life, and how bitter was the disappointment of Wilson. We know that the landscape artist was not commercially successful as an artist. Constable paintings were never popular, because his aims were never understood. His robust vigour was repellent to the average man. Especially were his productions disliked when he endeavoured to represent the glistening and broken lights on meadow and foliage by the process called "spotting." This method might have looked over emphasized when the picture was freshly painted. But now, when time has softened the surface, it takes a right place, and prevents the canvas looking " sleepy," an effect Constable had a great horror of. This process was instinctively adopted by many of the best water colour painters, particularly by David Cox. No doubt the method came from the working of the material when making quick sketches from nature. In laying on rapid washes of water colour for sky, foreground, foliage, and distance, numerous spaces of the white ground are left. These spaces, many of which are hardly visible, give an extreme sparkle and brilliancy.

They represent the glitter of reflected light from the sky across foliage and foreground. When the sketch was finished these lights were modified up to a certain point, but Constable was very guarded as to how far this was done. If carried too far the drawing became lifeless. By forgetting this fact the inferior artist, in trying to get finish, lost the greater qualities of spontaneity and truth of effect. It was not only in the obvious that Constable excelled. He was a great and noble colourist. He was subtle in the arrangement of his composition, and, though painting much deep shade, tenacious of his effects of lights. Most important of all, he never failed to reproduce those exquisite flickering lights caused by the day sky which fall upon all objects in the open air. John Constable has been often and truly called the Father of Modern Impressionism. His first desire was to reproduce God's light in his work, and to give a true and full impression of nature both in colour and chiaroscuro. The success with which he attained these objects amply justifies the claim he has to the distinction. Constable oil painting, as a consequence, has had the widest and most lasting influence both at home and abroad.

In mentioning his name in this connection I do not forget that all great landscape painters have been, by the very nature of their subject, impressionists. Turner was especially an impressionist, but, although Turner is accepted as the greatest master of landscape painting, and his work has not been without very great influence, Constable's robust and massive manner has effected the modern schools more universally. In a letter already quoted he summed up the qualities at which he chiefly aimed in Constable paintings — " light, dews, breezes, bloom, and freshness ; not one of which has yet been perfected on the canvas of any painter in the world." In another letter he refers to his desire to see the sun shine, the fields bloom, the trees blossom, and to hear the foliage rustle. In a letter written to Archdeacon Fisher he remarks : "'Oh dear, oh dear, I shall never let my longing eyes see that famous country (Italy).' These are the words of old Richardson, and like him I am doomed never to see the living scenes that inspired the landscape of Wilson and Claude.

No, but I was born to paint a happier land, my own dear old England ; and when I cease to love her, may I, as Wordworth says, ' Never more hear Her green leaves rustle, nor her torrents roar ! ' " John Constable never ceased to love his homeland. And his intense affection and sympathy for the English country side enabled him to paint it in a glorious ecstasy, the results of w T hich are not likely to be ever surpassed. List of Famous Paintings supplies by John Constable -- Author: Lewis L., Toperfect Director. John Constable painting The White Horse In 1817, the painter set about painting a six-feet-width large oil painting about rivers for the first time. It was named as The White Horse and exhibited in Academy of Fine Arts in 1819. On this occasion, this is a too large landscape painting on canvas to be noticed. John Constable Paintings List Toperfect supply oil painting masterpiece reproductions of the famous painter above, you are welcome to send us your own picture to copy. Specially for individual customers and collectors, you're suggested to own a Museum Collection by famous artists for such oil painting classic.

Buy John Constable Art Famous No Copyright Infringement of Toperfect's script! The Haywain by John Constable The Haywain The Haywain by John Constable, is probably one of the most famous of all English paintings. Many a home has a print, but relatively few people know the story behind it. John Constable was born in East Bergholt, Suffolk, England on 11th June 1776. Initially his father, Golding Constable wanted young John to join him is his prosperous corn business. By 1799 however it was obvious that John loved nothing more than drawing, so he was given an allowance to study at the Royal Academy in London. The art world was slow to recognize his talents. Landscapes were not considered very important in his day, so he had to produce a few portraits for his income. He would often spend his Summers in East Anglia, making sketches ready for them to be transformed into his beautiful works when he returned to his home in London. During these early years he created such works as Boatbuilding near Flatford Mill (1814-15) which can be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

In 1819 he moved to Hampstead Heath on the outskirts of London. By this time his father had died, so he was more financially secure. He was now producing his best work, including The Haywain in 1821. The work was based on many sketches he had produced, many of which still survive. In 1824 The Haywain was exhibited in Paris, where it won a gold medal. The painting caused a stir amongst the French art critics, who were astonished by its freshness. In his later years he lectured, still trying to popularize landscape painting, but he died in 1837 with none of the fame he now has. The Scene Now In the Autumn of 1993 we went to East Bergholt in Suffolk to see for ourselves where this great work of art was set. The river bank is now overgrown, but it is easy to imagine the great artist seated with Willy Lott's Cottage on his left, Flatford Mill on his right and the wonderful Suffolk landscape before him. A large collection of John Constable's works can be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum , but The Haywain itself is in the National Gallery in London, England.

John Constable - The complete works Contact Portrait John Constable John Constable (11 June 1776 - 31 March 1837) was an English Romantic painter. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for his landscape paintings of Dedham Vale, the area surrounding his home - now known as "Constable Country"- which he invested with an intensity of affection. "I should paint my own places best", he wrote to his friend John Fisher in 1821, "painting is but another word for feeling". His most famous paintings include Dedham Vale of 1802 and The Hay Wain of 1821. Although his paintings are now among the most popular and valuable in British art, he was never financially successful and did not become a member of the establishment until he was elected to the Royal Academy at the age of 52. He sold more paintings in France than in his native England. John Constable Paintings & Prints | ConstablePaintings.com Buy Now from Art.com John Constable paintings feature the beautiful English countryside and are amongst the best known art works to have come from the UK.

This website features all the best paintings from Constable as well as plenty of information on the life of the artist as well and also discussion on buying your own reproduction prints of the originals included throughout this page. You can also find Constable paintings here. For those looking to study more about Constable, there is a full list of his works further down this page. Constable and Turner were respected British artists whose careers were almost entirely based on landscape scenes which took advantage of the natural beauty which surrounded them and combined that with their own creative talent and passion for the outdoors. Constable himself was brought up in Suffolk, East Anglia and featured that consistently within his career. Later on, as Constable's reputation spread, so did the locations from where he would capture his paintings. John Constable paintings and featured throughout this website, with images of the best originals that we could find from his considerable career. The painting above is The Haywain which is certainly the best known of all his works, though many other landscape works are also well respected and worth checking out. There is a fuller list of his oil paintings and pencil sketches further down the page and all images are accompanied by links to where you can buy your own reproduction copies of the originals for your own home.

John Constable and JMW Turner were amongst the finest members of the Romanticist art movement which was crucial in developing traditional art thinking onwards towards the contemporary styles which we enjoy today. Constable came about at a time when landscape painting was not entirely part of the mainstream, certainly not as much as it is today, and his passion and strong character combined with great technical ability helped to push forward this style of art that is now very much taken for granted as a major interest. John Constable was someone who did not achieve financial stability as an artist although he did at least become recognised as a member of the Royal Academy at 52 which is a significant moment for any British artist, particular during this period. Much of Constable's qualities in his paintings came from the supreme drawing skills which he had that helped him to plan his works carefully and accurately before adding the oil colours afterwards. Several of his sketches are also included here and these show off these illustrative techniques. John Constable has managed to keep his reputation strong all the way up to the modern day and this is in part due to the rise in popularity for landscape paintings, with most seeing him as one of the most skilled exponents, certainly within England.

It is important that Constable was not just talented at this art genre, but was also extremely passionate and strong willed, helping to sell the art form through his hard work, talent and great belief in it. John Constable (1776–1837) | Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art Works of Art (5) Essay The English landscape painter John Constable once wrote, “I should paint my own places best.” This precept guided his career, as Constable developed a unique style combining objective studies of nature with a deeply personal vision of the countryside round his boyhood home. While most landscapists of the day traveled extensively in search of picturesque or sublime scenery, Constable never left England. His name is so closely associated with his native Stour Valley that the area is sometimes referred to as “Constable country.” The son of Golding Constable, a landowning farmer, miller, and corn merchant, Constable grew up along the Stour River in East Bergholt, Suffolk. Although his family hoped that he would join his father’s business, they permitted him to enter the Royal Academy Schools at the age of twenty-two.

Until he completed his studies nearly ten years later, Constable divided his time between East Bergholt, where he would sketch out of doors in the spring and summer, and London, where he exhibited finished oil paintings based on these open-air studies at the Academy. Rejecting the accepted hierarchy of genres, which ranked idealized landscapes that told historical or mythological tales above views observed in nature, Constable sought recognition for humbler scenes of cultivated land and agricultural labor ( The Cornfield ; 1826; The National Gallery, London). The small, precise painting Golding Constable’s Flower Garden (1815; Ipswich Borough Council) seems to record every detail of his father’s domestic garden, as well as the barns and fields beyond. Beginning with the 1819 Academy exhibition, Constable demonstrated his aspirations more boldly by exhibiting large-scale scenes of working farms and waterways painted in his studio, using increasingly broad brushstrokes and thickly applied highlights. The Hay Wain (1821; National Gallery, London), one of these so-called six-footers, was among the three paintings that Constable exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1824, where he was awarded a gold medal.

His strikingly fresh, apparently spontaneous transcription of the landscape, described by the French writer Stendhal as “the mirror of nature,” caused a sensation among French painters. For Eugène Delacroix, in particular, Constable’s rich, shimmering surfaces came as a revelation, and, during his 1825 visit to London, he sought out the reclusive artist. Yet success had come late to Constable, who often struggled to support a large family (his wife Maria bore seven children before she died in 1828). Throughout the 1810s and 1820s, Constable supplemented his income by painting portraits ( 06.1272 ) of local dignitaries. The patronage of Dr. John Fisher, whom Constable first met in 1798 and who later became bishop of Salisbury, remained crucial throughout his career. Between 1811 and 1829, Constable often visited the Reverend Fisher at Salisbury, where he sketched the Gothic cathedral ( 50.145.8 ) from a range of viewpoints under various weather conditions.

These preliminary oil studies served as the basis of several paintings that picture Salisbury Cathedral alternately menaced by storms, framed by puffy cumulous clouds, or surmounted by a rainbow. Intensive studies of clouds and skies enabled Constable to achieve these unique atmospheric effects. In 1821 and 1822, during his intense “skying” period, he produced dozens of watercolor , crayon, and oil studies of the clouds over Hampstead Heath ( 2009.400.26 ). His cloud studies—celebrated today—were not exhibited in his lifetime. Painted rapidly, wet-in-wet, Constable used short strokes and a restricted color palette to train his hand and eye, and to enhance the realism of his later paintings. He labeled almost all of these images with scientific precision, indicating the date, time, wind, and weather conditions under which they were painted. Yet his ultimate goal was to paint the sky—which he deemed landscape’s “chief organ of sentiment”—more expressively.

Indeed, landscapes from the time of his wife’s death (e.g., Hadleigh Castle, 1828–29; Tate, London) feature dark, turbulent skiesthat carry the brunt of the works’ emotional weight. In the later part of his career, Constable made fewer open-air oil sketches. Instead, he increasingly prepared studio sketches inspired by his earlier outdoor drawings. He undertook one major project in his final years—a series of twenty mezzotints after his paintings entitled Various Subjects of Landscape, Characteristic of English Scenery ( 39.68.27 ) to be engraved by a little-known printmaker, David Lucas, under his supervision. The series, known as English Landscape and published from 1830 to 1833, became a manifesto of his views on landscape painting and a summary of his career. The second edition bore the subtitle”Principally Intended to Mark the Phenomena of the Chiar’Oscuro of Nature,” reflecting his belief that chiaroscuro, or the contrast between light and dark, was a principle of nature, and therefore crucial to landscape painting (the medium of mezzotint excels at conveying such tonal gradations).

This emphasis on naturalism distinguishes Constable’s approach from the classical tradition of landscape painting. Today he is often considered, along with J. M. W. Turner , one of England’s greatest landscape painters. Elizabeth E. Barker Department of Drawings and Prints, The Metropolitan Museum of Art October 2004 Citation Barker, Elizabeth E. “John Constable (1776–1837).” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. (October 2004) Further Reading Rosenthal, Michael. Constable: The Painter and His Landscape. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983. Shields, Conal, and Leslie Parris. John Constable, 1776–1837. London: Tate Gallery, 1985. Additional Essays by Elizabeth E.

Barker John Constable drawing that inspired The Hay Wain sells for £42,000 | Daily Mail Online comments A previously unknown sketch by John Constable that is said to be an early inspiration for his famous work The Hay Wain today sold for £42,000 - six times its estimated value The small pencil drawing of a horse and plough was one of seven 'lost' works produced by the 18th century English painter which went under the hammer for a total of £222,000 (with fees added on), far exceeding the original expected sum of around £60,000. The sketches, and an eighth by Constable's son, Lionel, were bought in a London art store in 1952 by the current owner's father for £500. The works had been hung in their house in Norfolk ever since without the family realising who they were by. A previously unknown sketch by John Constable that is said to be an early inspiration for his famous work The Hay Wain today sold for £42,000 - six times its estimated value.

Heavy Horse At Rest Beside A Plough (above) was created by the artist in a pocket-sized pad while on honeymoon in Berkshire in 1816 Significantly, Heavy Horse At Rest was drawn five years before The Hay Wain (above) - his masterpiece of three horses pulling a large cart across a river in Suffolk The drawings were bought in 1952 for £500. Above, Flatford Lock With Flatford Footbridge (14 x 19cm). Est: £8,000-12,000; sold for £24,000 The works had been hung in a house in Norfolk ever since without the family realising who they were by. Windmill With Storm Clouds (7 x 12cm). Est: £4,000-6,000; sold for £12,000 The drawings have since been authenticated by Constable scholars who confirmed they were unknown to them. The 9cm by 11cm work of the horse and plough next to a stream was created by the artist in a pocket-sized pad while on honeymoon in Berkshire in 1816.

RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share Significantly, it was drawn five years before The Hay Wain - his masterpiece of three horses pulling a large cart across a river in Suffolk. Experts said the drawing may have been a factor when he painted one of the most famous paintings by an English artist. The drawings have since been authenticated by Constable scholars who confirmed they were unknown to them. Above, Cottage With A Figure (7 x 12cm). Est: £4,000-6,000. Sold for £9,000 The anonymous seller had taken the drawings to Cheffins Auctioneers of Cambridge as he was moving house and wanted to see if they had any worth. Above, River Meadows (12 x 23cm). Est: £8,000-12,000. Sold for £38,000 WHAT THE DRAWINGS SOLD FOR (before fees added on) Storm Clouds (8 x 12cm) Est: £6,000-8,000. Sold for £44,000* Heavy Horse At Rest Beside A Plough, 1816 (9 x 11cm).

Est: £6,000-8,000. Sold for £42,000 River Meadows (12 x 23cm). Est: £8,000-12,000. Sold for £38,000 Flatford Lock With Flatford footbridge (14 x 19cm). Est: £8,000-12,000 Sold for £24,000 Study Of Trees (18 x 24cm). Est: £6,000-8,000. Sold for £16,000 Windmill With Storm Clouds (7 x 12cm). Est: £4,000-6,000. Sold for £12,000 Cottage With A Figure (7 x 12cm). Est: £4,000-6,000. Sold for £9,000 Trees By The Edge Of A field (17 x 25cm) Est; £1,000-2,000 Lionel Bicknell Constable.

Sold for £2,000 A total sale price of £187,000. * Total sale, with fees added: £222,000 Another sketch entitled Storm Clouds showing a gloomy Suffolk landscape sold for £44,000 today. And another small work of river meadows in East Bergholt, Suffolk, achieved a price of £38,000. The total price for the seven drawings - plus the other by Lionel - was £187,000, but with all the fees added on, the overall price was £222,000. The anonymous seller had taken the drawings to Cheffins Auctioneers of Cambridge as he was moving house and wanted to see if they had any worth. He was said to be 'very pleased' with the outcome of the sale. Sarah Flynn, paintings expert at Cheffins, said: 'Discovering these drawings in an unknown, private collection was very exciting. 'Most similar Constable drawings are now in museums. 'The personal touch that one of the drawings was sketched on Constable's honeymoon also contributed to their rarity, which made them even more desirable.

'The horse and plough, drawn on his honeymoon, portrays Constable's deep love of the countryside and rural England. 'This perhaps was a factor in his later The Hay Wain, which was drawn at a particularly happy moment in his life as he had fought to marry Maria. Storm Clouds (8 x 12cm). Est: £6,000-8,000. Sold for £44,000. Sarah Flynn, paintings expert at Cheffins, said: 'Discovering these drawings in an unknown, private collection, was very exciting' Above, Study Of Trees (18 x 24cm). Est: £6,000-8,000. Sold for £16,000 'We are delighted with the prices achieved for the works today.' The honeymoon sketch, called Heavy Horse at Rest Beside a Plough is inscribed 'Binfiled Decr. 6th 1816'. An eighth drawing included in today's auction was by the hand of Constable's son Lionel and was produced after his father's death in 1837. It sold for £2,000.

All eight sketches were bought by the vendor’s father from the art dealers the Leggatt Brothers. The brothers handled a large quantity of Constable's sketches in oil, watercolour and pencil in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. BRITAIN'S GREAT ROMANTIC: THE LIFE OF ONE OF BRITAIN'S BEST ARTISTS John Constable died on March 31, 1837 at the age of 60 from heart failure Born in Suffolk in 1776, John Constable is considered one of the foremost British artists. Largely self-taught, he was influenced by Dutch painters - and is best known for his landscape paintings in Dedham Vale, the area in which he grew up. His most famous painting, The Hay Wain, is now exhibited at the National Gallery. Finished in 1821, The Hay Wain was one of six large canvases depicting the area around Flatford Mill in Suffolk. Another in the series, The Lock, became one of the most expensive British paintings ever sold when it fetched £22.4million at auction in 2012 Despite his works now attracting huge fees, Constable was not financially successful in life.

He also struggled to gain recognition from his peers and was not elected into the Royal Academy until the age of 52. He died in March 1837, aged 60, of apparent heart failure, and was buried with his wife. His children John and Charles are also buried in the tomb. John Constable | artist | 1776 - 1837 | National Gallery, London Go to artist A-Z Constable is famous for his landscapes, which are mostly of the Suffolk countryside, where he was born and lived. He made many open-air sketches, using these as a basis for his large exhibition paintings, which were worked up in the studio. His pictures are extremely popular today, but they were not particularly well received in England during his lifetime. He did, however, have considerable success in Paris. Daniel Gardner, ‘Portrait of John Constable’, 1796, The Victoria and Albert Museum, London © Victoria and Albert Museum, London / Stapleton Collection / Bridgeman Art Library Constable was born in East Bergholt, Suffolk. He was largely self-taught, and developed slowly.

In 1799 he was a probationer, and in 1800 a student at the Royal Academy schools. He exhibited from 1802 at the Royal Academy in London, and later at the Paris Salon. He influenced the Barbizon School and the French Romantic movement. Like Thomas Gainsborough , Constable was influenced by Dutch artists such as Jacob van Ruisdael . The works of Peter Paul Rubens and Claude also proved to be useful colouristic and compositional models. However, the realism and vitality of Constable's work make it highly original. Share this artist

Question: Who was the famous artist that painted 'The Haywain'?
Answer: John Constable